Hello, Aaron here. Among other things, one of the things we’ll be doing at Worlds Redeemed is book reviews by the staff here.
To start us off, I’m reviewing Dragon School (books 1-5) by Sarah K. L. Wilson
From the “Back of the Book”:
Sixteen-year-old Amel is disabled and rejected by society. A burden to her family and ignored by her peers, Amel travels to Dragon School for one last chance. If she can find a place among the courageous Dragon Riders, she can hold her head high. If she fails … she’ll die. But what Amel didn’t expect was Raolcan. When this empathetic dragon chooses her it changes everything.
Will it be enough when Amel takes her final test?
Dragon School is the epic dragon rider series you don’t want to miss. Combining dramatic dragon battles, breath-taking adventures, magical creatures, and heart-pounding suspense, this tale will warm your heart and keep you flipping pages.
This omnibus edition contains episodes 1-5 of the popular novella series:
Dragon School: First Flight Can disabled Amel conquer the deadly challenge of riding a fierce dragon?
Dragon School: Initiate Magic comes to Dragon School. Can it be trusted?
Dragon School: The Dark Prince Who says all handsome princes are charming?
Dragon School: The Ruby Isles Rules and threats aren’t enough to stop Amel when her friends need her.
Dragon School: Sworn Things are heating up for Amel and Raolcan and not just because flames are flying in every direction!
My thoughts:
I first became aware of this book from a Facebook ad (so I guess they can work…) The book was 99 cents, it sounded like it might be good, and we were going camping and I wanted something to read while I was chilling in the hammock.
I read it pretty quick, and then bought the omnibus version that had books 1-5… then 6-10.
The books are pretty short, though. Each book is about novella lenght, and each omnibus is about novel length. So if you’re going to buy them, I’d recommend going straight for the omnibuses.
The story was really fun and enjoyable, and I liked all the characters. One thing this book does really well that others don’t, is the way they handle the mentor characters. There are some twists and turns, but overall the adults don’t get in the way of the story, but neither are they killed off. They support the main characters and (for the most part) are good role models. I wish more stories would do that, instead of killing them off, or having the adults essentially be either absent or minor bad guys.
Amel has a bad leg. This is neither played for pity, woe-is-me, or bogs the story down. She’s used to it, and does the best she can with what she’s got, and doesn’t focus on the negatives in life. It does come up as plot points in the story, but is treated naturally and not as a trope or pity-play.
All the books are one big story, but it doesn’t get bogged down — it’ll keep you turning the pages.
I really liked this series, and I’m planning on buying the rest of it.
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